Melvin E. Noel

Divided back, unused Real Photo Postcard. NOKO stamp box. Circa 1925.

Price:  $12.00

I think we can say beyond a reasonable doubt that this gentleman is Melvin Eustace Noel, born September 18, 1899 in Palermo, California, as no other possibilities were found. Melvin was the son of Daniel Noel and Daisy E. (Darby) Noel. We’re estimating maybe he was around 25 years old when the photo was taken. From records it appears he had never married and had made his living in the ranching industry. Makes sense as to his work boots and maybe best work pants that he wears for the photo, along with the suit jacket and tie. His WWII Draft Registration Card shows he was employed at that time by Amadee Ranch, address Wendel, CA with employer’s contact name and address given J. L. Humphrey of Reno, NV. Below, a Google map showing the town of Wendel, just north of Honey Lake, and moving eastward, the California-Nevada border.

Sources:  The National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 1320. Ancestry.com. U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Ophir, Butte, California; Page: 24; Enumeration District: 0020. (Ancestry.com).

Original data: State of California. California Death Index, 1940-1997. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics. (Ancestry.com).

Wendel, California map (Google.com).

He Takes A Great Picture

Old photo, cropped. Circa 1910s – 1920s.

Price:  $5.00      Size:  about 2 and 1/2 x 3 and 1/2″

There is no tie-in to this photo and the last (that we know of – as mentioned on a number of prior posts, at LCG we like the segue thing) unless by serendipity, the very photogenic young man’s name is William. (Yes, probably not, what would be the odds? But these things do seem to happen more often in the world of old postcards and photos and the like, than outside that realm, so to speak. No data to back that statement up with, but just lots of instances that I could recount. Anyway, what a nice-looking young man, self-confident and with that arresting look for the camera. Someone you could rely on, who already knew what he was about.

Willie Moshier’s Postcard To Leone Olson

Divided Back, Real Photo Postcard. Postmarked July 12, 1912, Sauk Rapids, Minnesota.

Price:  $12.00

“Sauk Rapids. Dear Leon I have no Leon to play with we had a marry go round I had lots of rides wish Leon wood ben hear to ride with me by by Willie Moshier.”

Addressed to:   “Miss Leon Olson, Libby Mont.”

That must be Willie on the front steps of the cottage with his parents watching over him from inside the screened porch. From the 1920 Federal Census for Sauk Rapids, MN, Willie is William R. Moshier, born about 1907 in MN, son of George H., born in PA, and Minnie Moshier born in Germany. From the 1920 Federal Census for Libby, MT, Leone is Leone G. Olson, born in MN about 1909, the daughter of Len J., born in Sweden and Gertrude E. Olson, born in MN.

Sources:  Year: 1920; Census Place: Sauk Rapids, Benton, Minnesota; Roll: T625_824; Page: 17A; Enumeration District: 91. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1920; Census Place: Libby, Lincoln, Montana; Roll: T625_972; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 128. (Ancestry.com).

Chebeague Island, Maine, 1923

Divided back postcard. Postmarked 1923, Chebeague Island, Maine.

Price:  $15.00

“Dear Louise: – Received your letter. I printed this on this Post Card and I think it came out well. I sprained my wrist and put a couple of bones out of place. Now I have an absess on it and don’t know how it will turn out. Will write later. Lots of love to all. Beatrice.”

Addressed to:   “Miss Louise Gunaris, 101 Edgehill Road, East Milton, Mass.”

Louise was Marie Louise Gunaris, born June 16, 1903 in Melrose, Mass.; parents Andrew Gunaris, born in Greece and Frances (Ott) Gunaris, born in Boston. We don’t know Beatrice’s last name but we imagine she might have been vacationing here and now we’re conjuring up images of her old photo album that still exists somewhere, with this very photo in it, and others, that she took, summer of ’23, on Chebeague Island. And the house – how about that wrap-around porch and the beautiful stonework? What a beautiful spot, with the wildflowers blooming in the foreground! And in looking for other Real Photo Postcards taken on this island, there don’t seem to be too many, so this card may be of historical interest and/or maybe we’ll find someone who can tell us if this house still exists and who it belonged to back in the day.

Update:  See A Greek Happy New Year that was just posted January 1, 2020 for another Gunaris family postcard.

Sources:  Chebeague Island, Maine. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chebeague_Island,_Maine (accessed April 15, 2018).

Original data: Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts. (Ancestry.com).

Mildred Simpson’s Home, Beverly, Mass.

Old photo, white border, circa 1910s – 1920s. Beverly, Massachusetts.

Price:  $10.00

On the back is written,  “This is the Front of her house.”  And by a relative, most likely from a younger generation,  “cousin Mildred Simpsons Home Beverly, Mass.”

Well, we hope this lovely home is still standing, as we couldn’t find it still in existence from satellite photos, that is if cousin Mildred was the Miss Mildred Simpson born January 1, 1905 in Beverly, Massachusetts to Howard Simpson and Christina (Devine) Simpson. Mildred married Donald Benjamin Livingston in 1929. One thing for sure, this Mildred had moved a lot as she was growing up. One would have to check the microfilm with the Library of Congress or maybe local or Boston libraries for all the city directories from 1905 to 1929, but the ones online (with the addition of census records and the WWI Draft Reg) show eight different addresses in that span of time, with most of the directories being missing, so probably more moves than eight….not that that’s a bad thing, all the moving around, that is – just wondering what it had been like for her. Maybe exciting, or maybe sad sometimes, or a little of both.

The house itself, now I’m not really sure what style it’s in:  a little like Craftsman but not –  what with those porch supports (not that I’m an expert). But it’s a two-story with hipped roof (though the photo cuts off much of it) and shingle siding. And note the stairway jutting out from the back of the house, so there must have been a deck or back porch.

Sources:  Original data: Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts. (Ancestry.com).

Original data: Department of Public Health, Registry of Vital Records and Statistics. Massachusetts Vital Records Index to Marriages [1916–1970]. Volumes 76–166, 192– 207. Facsimile edition. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts. (Ancestry.com).

Ancestry.com. Massachusetts City Directories.

The Taylor Family At Home, Endicott WA

Divided Back, Real Photo Postcard. Postmarked July 20, 1908, Endicott, Washington. Photographer:  Hutchison, Endicott, Washington.

Price:  $15.00

“The old Lady is Mrs. Taylor. the Babe belongs to Fannie. I hope you are feeling better. Lovingly, Orpha.”

Addressed to:   “Mrs. A. H. Anderson. Coeur d’ Alene Idaho.”

Figuring out who is who

Orpha, the postcard sender, is Mrs. Thomas F. Taylor, born in California, about 1866, to Edward Irwin and Leah Stark. She and Thomas (that’s likely him in the image above) married in Diamond, Washington (about 13 miles east of Endicott) on April 18, 1896 (it’s April 14th as I’m typing this…so almost 122 years ago.) Thomas, born in Illinois about 1872, was the son of William J. Taylor and Sarah Barnett. His occupation was farmer, at the time of his marriage to Orpha, and it’s possible that the farmhouse we see here is Tom (let’s just say Tom from here on out) and Orpha’s. They had a daughter, Frances, born January 1897, near Endicott, so her age would fit perfectly for the young girl standing on the porch. If she’s Frances, then the dark-haired woman in the photo is probably Orpha, since the girl resembles her so much, and because we see the photographer’s embossed stamp on the side of the card, so in other words, Orpha may have been in the photo, definitely not taking it. The older lady (let’s not say old!) on our left must be Tom’s mother, Sarah (Barnett) Taylor. Last, but not least, what was the babe’s name?

Orpheus C. Taylor on the 1910

An unusual female name, either way, Orpha or Orpheus, but the 1910 Federal Census shows Tom, Orpheus and Frances, living in Garfield, Washington, near the border of Idaho. Tom, at this time, is running his own blacksmith shop.

Who was Mrs. A. H. Anderson?

Possibly Jessie, maiden name Dobbins, that married Andrew H. Anderson. In 1910 the couple was living in Coeur d’ Alene with their daughter, Fern (or Sweet Fern, as she is officially named on one of her records. Love these names! And, we’ll add this post to our Unusual First Names category, on account of both Sweet Fern and Orpheus.)

Sources:  Washington State Archives; Olympia, Washington; Collection Title: Washington Marriage Records, 1854-2013; Reference Number: eawhmr350. (Ancestry.com).

Original data: Washington Births, 1891-1929. Various county birth registers. Microfilm. Washington State Archives, Olympia, Washington. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1910; Census Place: Precinct 42, Whitman, Washington; Roll: T624_1674; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 0264; FHL microfilm: 1375687. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1910; Census Place: Sherman, Kootenai, Idaho; Roll: T624_225; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 0173; FHL microfilm: 1374238. (Ancestry.com).

“Sweet Fern Cruze.” California, Death Index, 1940-1997. (Ancestry.com).

A Proud Owner

Divided Back, unused Real Photo Postcard. Circa 1910s – 1930s.

Price:  $5.00

“The window is not broken, it is the reflection of the sun.”

This is a Tudor-style house, as we can see from the steep-pitched roof, the tall windows, and the decorative half-timbering on the gable. If you look at the upper portion of the side of the house you might think you’re seeing wood shingle siding but that overlapping effect must be just an illusion – look at the lower half and you’ll see brick. There’s a small built-in front porch with a rounded archway, and the front facade of the house is stuccoed above the, would one say, brick wainscoting? The top segments of the bay windows are called awning windows, and it’s one of these that appears to be broken, but like the proud owner says, it’s a reflection of the sun. And there’s the gentleman himself, posing to the side, in suit and fedora. There are two small potted evergreens that look like they might be for planting elsewhere, and note the key that’s hanging in the door. Looking closer still, we see a zigzag pattern of tile for the porch floor. And the windows in the door and on each side (does this remind anyone of the 1960s or ’70s?) are done in some type of privacy glass with a pebbled effect.

Jack My Boy, We Are Here

Undivided Back, Real Photo Postcard. Postmarked September 17, 1905.

Price:  $12.00

“Jack – my boy – we are here – Gaff.”

Addressed to:   “Schuyler B. Jackson, Esq. Somerset Farm, Peapack, N. J.”

A great caption by the sender, and better than what I was thinking….but still, “A Grand Old House.” Jack seems to have been Schuyler Brinkerhoff Jackson, son of Philip and Margaret, born in New Jersey, August 18, 1900. The postmark year is almost impossible to read, that may be the hint of a “5” there, so 1905 maybe, but since this was an undivided back-type card, if sent timely, it was mailed before the postal regulations changed in December 1907. So, the recipient of this card might have been about five years old.

My old gaffer?

Who was Gaff? Could he have been the grandpa of young Schuyler? (Gaff or Gaffer has been used as a nickname for grandfather) or could there have been an older version (the 1.0 😉 ) of SBJ and Gaff was a friend or rellie of Jack’s own generation?

In the sun and shade

And what of the grand old house? A two-story Colonial(?) in brick (or stone) with dormers, wood shutters, and a wood-shingled roof. The possible location Peapack, NJ, is not ruled out, per the postmark, but she could just as well have been situated in any number of other places, though likely in the Northeast. Some other details:  If you click on the image to enlarge it, you’ll notice a chair or chairs to the left of the stairway (can’t you just picture yourself walking up the 7 or 8 steps) leading up to the front porch? On our right, the wood-sided sloped portion must have been an addition, with the semi-enclosed patio area added on, too. But back to the front porch – maybe the steps were added later and the original entrance had been (or still was) on the ground floor.

Sources: Year: 1910; Census Place: Bernards, Somerset, New Jersey; Roll: T624_907; Page: 23A; Enumeration District: 0109; FHL microfilm: 1374920. (Ancestry.com).

The National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 1198. (Ancestry.com).

Hauskaa Pääsiäista

Divided back, used postcard. Paletti, Sarja Pääsiäinen. Circa 1930.

Price:  $10.00

An Easter card from Finland of a proud rooster with all his baby chicks, and the caption translating to merry, fun or amusing, or maybe just Happy Easter. The cancellation date is difficult to read, however the stamp should be from 1930. Paletti as you’ve guessed is Palette (not sure if this is the publisher name or not) and Sarja Pääsiäinen, as you’ve probably also guessed, is Easter Series. The card is addressed:

“Herrasväki Sivulat, Helsinki, Laivurinkatu 39.”  And on the front (we need a native speaker) it appears to say  “F:  Utriaiset.”  Below, the location this postcard went to in 1930. If we could time travel to be there as it was being received….(!)

Sources:  Stamps of Finland: Definitives of 1930 – 1946. Stamp-Collecting-World. (accessed April 1, 2018).

“Laivurinkatu 39 00150 Helsinki, Finland.” Google.com maps. (accessed April 1, 2018).

An Easter Message Just For You

Easter greeting card. Circa 1930s – 1940s.

Price:  $5.00         Size:  Folded into four sections, 5 and 1/4 x 3 and 7/8″

This card is prettier “in person” (huh? lol) with the shimmering gold tone when you hold it at an angle. No publisher name or any writing on it at all, other than the inside printed verse:

“Thinking of you?

Well I guess!

Always wish you happiness!

Like to see you?

Would I? Say –

That would be a real joy today!”